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Theories of Gender
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Discussions on what constitutes and/or distinguishes “man” and “woman” can be traced at least to the Greek philosophers of the Antiquity. Contemporarytheoriesof gender developed from the agenda and discussions of the—Euro-American—women’s movement of the second half of the 20th century. However, they echo also earlier concerns, namely those voiced by thinkers since the French revolution. The 1980s is arguably the most prolific decade in developing gender as an analytical category. Also at that time, theorising of the dynamics of gender(s) came to the fore, being challenged and enriched by post-colonial and non-heterosexual perspectives.
This course will introduce the participants to some of the turning points in the development of gender theories.
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Gender in the Technological World
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In this highly technologized age – keywords: web 4.0, artificial intelligence, cyborgs, reproduction medicine, etc. – technology exerts more and more influence on people and social structures. Both our private and working life are constantly influenced by technology. Thereby the strong interrelationship between technology and humans can be observed. To scrutinize this perspective means to ask questions about the reciprocal relationship between technology and gender. Therefore this course focuses on the connection between society, technology and gender. Different cultural perspectives are taken into account to fathom the importance of technology in today’s society and critically reflect on how technology contributes to reinforce, question, hide or even lever gendered structures.
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Gender Governance and Gender Mainstreaming
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The overall objective of this course is to provide students with insights and skills relevant to understanding and affecting gender governance processes at local, national and international levels. The course pursues two viewpoints: 1) gender equality realizes human rights and aims for gender justice, and 2) gender equality can only be reached with multi-actor and multi-level processes that underpin policy and governance. Embedded in these viewpoints, the course will apply an actor-oriented approach that allows to critically analysing principles and strategies at various levels. The course combines theoretical debates with implementation practices and will examine their gender outcomes with an intersectional lens.
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Sociology of Gender
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Sociological interest in gender goes back at least to the concerns with the status of women addressed by 19-century women's movements, followed by the discussions of sex roles in psychology in the first half of the 20th century. However, sociology of gender as a subfield of sociology developed in response to the 20th-century women's movement—predominantly—in Western Europe and North America. The early explorations of socialisation into sex roles were followed by investigations into the construction and production of "gender", whether in institutions, in social interaction or symbolically. While "gender" remains the central category of analysis, later sociological inquiries gained in complexity by adding more conceptual layers, namely, the intersections between gender and other dimensions of social disadvantage/privilege, such as class, ethnicity, age, or disability. Finally, the discussions in the 21st century addressed with greater intensity the possibility of deconstructing gender. Sociologists of gender draw on a rich theoretical background that includes, among others, feminist theories, critical studies of men and masculinity, intersectional approaches, and queer theory. The weekly readings for this course cover key sociological spheres from a gender perspective— family, body and sexuality, culture, education, work and organisations, politics—while taking into consideration the historically significant concerns of sociology of gender, such as, the place of” gender” within sociology, sex-role socialisation, masculinities and femininities, ethnicity, class, disability, transgender, and globalisation.
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